Sprinting

Taking easily digestible forms of carbs, such as Gels or sports drinks can top up carb levels prior to important races or be an ideal pre-workout aid. Electrolyte drinks help to maintain hydration and replace minerals lost through sweating.

If you can’t stomach a meal immediately after training then Energy Ready-to-drinks or bars make a tasty and convenient choice. For short duration sprints, Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is used as an energy source and supplementing with creatine can increase the amount of creatine in muscle tissue so ATP is more rapidly replenished and sprint performance is improved.

Long term use of creatine supplements can increase lean body mass which can also positively affect performance by providing explosive power when leaving the starting block and to accelerate effectively throughout the race or training run.

Sprinters benefit from development of powerful lower body muscles, especially hamstrings and glutes, doing so can increase stride length so you can run faster. Sprinting places incredible demands on the muscles, joint and cardiovascular system.

Protecting your joints, ligaments and tendons can prevent injury from occurring and keep you going strong so a Joint supplement is a valuable addition to a sprinter’s regime. Due to the intense training program which includes sprinting there is a high risk of overtraining.

Couple this with the elite sprinter’s desire for a lean body it’s advisable to take Multi-vitamins and antioxidants to make up for shortfalls in the diet or any nutrients that might be lacking. Amino acids are vital to provide energy and help damaged muscle fibres to repair.

Effective recovery between training sessions improves each run and prevents suppressive of the immune system which can be a problem as sprinting is a maximum output activity.